Aboriginal Longka Longka Pearl Shell 7
$2,600.00
Longka Longka pubic cover
Human hair, pearl shell, and ochre
1940s
Height 7 1/2" Width 5 1/2"
Provenance: Collected in the early 1970s by an aboriginal education officer at Yuendumu.
An early pearl shell pendant from Kimberley’s Western Australia was collected in the 1960s. The lower part of the shell has some engraved designs that appear to have been done without pre-arrangement and similar to some of the carvings often seen on the reverse of artifacts that were used as a practice prior to the face being engraved, the addition of ochre infill suggest that the carving was premeditated and perhaps purposeful. The top of the shell is pierced and has a length of human hair string.